STATCOUNTER

November 2011

Have you noticed how many ads in a category look like, well, every other ad in the category? I don't want to single out any ad in particular, since perhaps you were the one who created it. (Or even more unhappily, perhaps I did.) And while generic may be good when you are purchasing prescription drugs, it should not be the goal in creating distinctive communications.

So, herewith, (I've waited years to put that word into my blog), is a simple little system, using a handy little device you always will have with you. Your thumb.

1. Print final version of ad.2. Place thumb on logo.

If you can't immediately determine whom the ad is for, then stick your thumb in your mouth while you reflect on how to make the page your own.

Yes, that sounds harsh, but no more severe than trying to justify running an ad that might just as well say "compliments of a friend."

Today, in America, we celebrate Thanksgiving. Traditionally, this is a time for feeling grateful for surviving another year, and giving thanks for our good fortune and good health. We do this accompanied by eating too much and drinking to excess, which unfortunately works against the good health element of our gratitude.

Among the things I am thankful for are your taking time to visit my blog on a busy family and friends day such as this, as well as your visits during the year. I hope you have gotten at least a few creative insights, if not from my critiques at least from the many examples of other’s good ideas I shared with you.

Rather than keep you away from the cranberry sauce any longer, with an overabundance of examples of good creative, let me show you just one. It is not only that the idea relies on a light bulb, which has become one of my favorite icons since the publication of my book with a bulb on the cover. It is, simply, a good idea. Clever, intrusive, unexpected, relevant…Oh wait, I already said all that when I called it a “good idea.”

What happens, in this billboard for the Economist magazine, is that when someone walks past the dim bulb, and is directly under it, the bulb lights up. As I did when I first saw it. So, to whomever had this good idea…Thanks.

The above video was shot on my iPhone at a bar in New York, showing pretty much what you would expect to see; a wide array of possible draft beer choices, each identified by a distinctive ceramic pull tap. As those know-it-alls (in a good sense) at Wikipedia say, “While in other contexts, depending on location, a "tap" may be a "faucet," "valve" or "spigot," the use of "tap" for beer is almost universal. This may be because the word was originally coined for the wooden valve in traditional barrels. Draft beer dispensed with a valve is said to be "on tap" (as an idiom).”

Now, though beer is thought to be the world’s most popular beverage, I must admit I do not drink my fair share. But I could not help but notice how each tap at the bar tried its best to stand out from the competition.

There are two points to be made about that. First, whoever had the original idea to design an attractive rather than a strictly functional pull and have it installed in a bar for the patron to see had a good idea. It took branding down to the point of purchase, as a brand manager would position it.

But he (or she) then had the problem that all good ideas face. The competition, no fools they, recognized it as a good thought, and "borrowed" the idea to use for their own brands. This will always happen, and I don't want you to feel discouraged by it; we are all guilty.

Very few of the ideas come out of the proverbial blue. Most, when you get down to it, have been an adaptation, a tweaking, and an adjustment of something you have seen before, whether consciously or not. This rearrangement can either be a blatant modification of someone else's work, or an insightful stepping on the shoulders of giants.

So when you come up with a good idea, and others do their version, perhaps confusing the consumer and diminishing your concept, don't get discouraged.

The advantage a good creative person has is that we can do it again and again, and not worry about what others do with our work.

I think I have found a finalist for the worst advertising of 2011. In the category of “Bad Taste,” it is a sure winner. I know you will agree if you watch it, though you would be better off, perhaps, just taking my word for it.

But for those of you who wish to throw caution to the wind (not sure why we never throw caution anywhere else), I have embedded it below. And to make it even better/worse, here is a link to their website. (Well, actually, this link goes nowhere. They are getting enough mentions without my giving them additional publicity.)

Now, if you have a different contender for worst advertising of the year, leave a comment. Somehow it is easier to find examples of bad advertising than it is to find worthy examples of the craft. Either this is because there are so many more examples of bad than good, or because it is easier to do a negative critique than a positive one.

Either way, I would rather you criticize bad advertising than have you create it.

By now, we all know—and some use—QR (quick response) codes. Those are the weird looking, strangely ornamented rectangles that, when scanned, take you quickly to a website, blog, video or almost anywhere that it has been created to link to. They are easy, and often free to create.

Here's one method to create them that the Marketing Professor blog talks about, using Google. The one above will take you to my blog, except that since you are already here, you may just have to take my word for it.

But the point is that as with most new technologies that go from amazing to yawns in a week or so, it is what you do with it that separates you from all the others. Below, for example, is an unexpected use for a QR code that I found.

Though you may have problems with the actual execution (cost, timing, etc.) there is no arguing that it is a legitimate attempt to stand out, get some ink, and all the other good things an idea can provide.

So when you get finished patting yourself on your back, or the body area of your choice, for being up to date with leading edge technology, sit back down. Think about how to utilize the newest "thing" in a way that will make it different than what everyone else is doing with it. In short, think about turning your idea into a good idea.

I am not certain why things always cost a pretty penny, rather than a good-looking penny, an average penny or even an ugly penny. But you can be sure that this two-page spread in People magazine cost the advertiser a most attractive penny.

And though I have given you hints galore, with my many “penny” references, it is not easy to figure out who exactly is paying for this ad. However, if you look closely—very closely— you can see, though barely, the advertiser’s name on the top right hand side.

It is hard to believe that they actually desired to be anonymous, in fear that crass commercialism during the holiday season would hurt their image and sales.

And though there is no longer a Gimbel’s department store to give the world’s largest store just down the block some real competition, you would think that (spoiler alert) J.C. Penney would actually like to take some business from Macy’s. Especially since the Macy’s Christmas window this year no longer features scenes from the movie “Miracle on 34th Street,” where the store’s—and real life—Santa happily sent shoppers to Macy’s competitors.*

I am positive that Ron Johnson, the new C.E.O of J. C. Penney and former Senior Vice President of Retail Operations at Apple Inc, who pioneered the concept of the Apple Retail Stores, will think different about the look of their marketing and advertising.

I am not suggesting that your ads should scream. But it would serve you well if your audience didn’t have to waste time puzzling out which company was attempting to attract their attention.

Get the idea?

P.S. Chatted with a window designer of Macy’s this morning about their change in Holiday windows, after eleven years of “Miracle.” He reassured me that the classic displays are still viewable, though now on the eighth floor.

*And here’s an original trailer, delightful, charming and well worth watching.

“Since Thomas Edison invented the phonograph, there has been only one way to listen to recorded music: Listen to it. That is, to consume passively a precise sequence of sounds exactly as they have been arranged. But what … if the musician joined with programmers and visual artists to turn the songs into encompassing interactive experiences? What if listeners were to become participants?”

The paragraph above is from a New York Times article about the singer, Bjork (the famous Icelandic singer-songwriter) and her latest release, “Biophilia.”

Since you and I love music and are ecstatic about good ideas (well, don’t/aren't we?), how could I not share what the columnist from the Times called, “among the most creative, innovative and important new projects in popular culture.”

You will get a reasonable idea of the 'magic' from the video embedded below, but evidently you should beg, borrow (not steal) an iPad to get the most out to it.

One of the clients that my ad agency had in our early days was Rapid Park, a smallish chain of parking garages located in Manhattan. The creative challenge was to have Rapid Park get into the consideration set, rather than just the usual suspects, when buildings were looking for someone to buy/lease/operate their parking spaces.

The thought we recommended, as seen on this t-shirt (Don’t ask, “Why a t-shirt?”) was “New York has more great parks than you think.” I liked it, fortunately the client also liked it, and it led to a rewarding and fun relationship for many years.

I have kept an eye out over the years for other clever ads in the garage category, though without much success. Till I saw this line, from Edison ParkFast, which I thought was definitely a good idea, and could have been the basis for many months of entertaining promotions and publicity. It had a point of view, came out of language used in the category, was a simple but catchy turn of phrase that was a nice play on words, and, in brief, was a memorable good idea.

Unfortunately, when I checked out the website, the thought was nowhere to be seen. Just a normal listing of locations, specials and coupons.

What a waste of a good idea. Especially because someone in the company has a good imagination and way with words, as this additional thought I saw at the same location indicates. (If you can’t read the graphic, its says, “Warning: There is not a ‘better parking spot’ around the corner.”

Are you wasting the good ideas you worked so hard to create, by just using them once, or locally, or only in the mediim that you originally created them for? Use the same imagination that got you to the idea in the first place, to figure out unexpected ways to maximize its strength, and/or check out the chapter in my book titled, “Use the Whole Carcass.”